Government
A jury was selected Tuesday in the federal trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and three co-defendants, marking the opening day of a closely watched corruption case centered on allegations that Thao traded political favors for support during her 2022 mayoral campaign. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers questioned about 70 prospective jurors, with occupations ranging from software engineers to students. She asked about their jobs, family members and whether work, childcare, health issues would make it difficult for…
Something that haunts District 2 Councilmember Charlene Wang is the story of local chef and supporter Eric Rivera, who was imprisoned for five years for a crime he didn’t commit. “He said to me, if there had been cameras, he wouldn’t have been wrongfully put away,” Wang said. “There’s other innocent people in prison where if the evidence was there, the right person would have been.” Debates around the use of Flock Automatic License Plate Readers have animated discussions in…
Oakland City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a 45-day moratorium on the approval of data centers in the city, with a provision for extending the measure if needed. Introduced by Councilmember Carroll Fife, the temporary pause will prevent the city from approving land use agreements or entitlements for data center development, while allowing city staff to determine what regulations Oakland needs, conduct community engagement and study potential impacts, including energy and water use, public health and environmental concerns. Supporters of…
The four candidates for Oakland mayor talked about the city budget, economic revitalization and other issues at a voter forum Saturday at City Hall, but the discussion kept returning to public safety. Around 40 people attended the forum, which was organized with the League of Women Voters of Oakland. First-term Mayor Barbara Lee will face challengers Brenda Grisham, a business owner and longtime community advocate; Mindy Pechenuk, an educator and researcher; and Julius Robinson, a community investment executive, in the…
Oaklanders aren’t pinning much hope on California’s next governor to improve living and working conditions in the city, with many saying they feel somewhat detached from the upcoming gubernatorial election. Oakland North spoke recently to dozens of residents across the city, many of whom said they were not excited to vote in the race between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton, including some who had no idea who was running in the Nov. 3 election to succeed Gavin Newsom. …
This story was co-published with The Oaklandside. Earlier this year, Oakland adopted a roadmap outlining steps to help minority and woman-owned businesses get a fairer share of public contracts. But for many contractors and advocates, the question is why has it taken so long? In 2008, Oakland first commissioned a study to determine whether there were racial and gender disparities in the city’s contracting process for construction, architecture, maintenance and other services. That study, and subsequent studies conducted every five…
Ali Adams dedicates much of her free time to cleaning up trash along Courtland Avenue and Redding Street in Oakland’s Maxwell Park neighborhood. She says the illegal dumping in her neighborhood reminds her of Detroit, where she grew up. “It seems that as time goes on, we’re supposed to be getting better with these things but at a certain point, it’ll tip if people just continually dump,” Adams said. “That’s kind of what I was starting to see here.” Adams…
The smell of popcorn drifted through Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater, but the tubs in the audience members’ hands sat untouched as people sat in tense silence, watching graphic scenes in an Alabama prison unfold before them. About 100 people attended the one-night screening last Wednesday of HBO’s “The Alabama Solution,” which included a panel discussion about corruption and abuse in the penitentiary system. The screening was organized by the nonprofit For the People, as part of a broader effort to…
First in a three-part series about Oakland agencies preparing for major federal funding cuts. Oakland is bracing for nearly $25 million in federal funding cuts — a blow to the cash-strapped city that has been grappling with budget deficits. The cuts represent a 34% decrease in federal funding from the previous year, according to an Oct. 1 memo from the city administrator. The city expects to receive about $49million in federal funds in the current fiscal year, which ends June…